Matthew 12- Spiritual Warfare

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When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. Matthew 12:43-45

As the Bible says “ A natural man can’t understand spiritual things “ (1 Corinthians 2:14) As we look at the scriptures today, you can’t comprehend what is happening here unless you are seeing it through spiritual eyes. Many people, even Christians today, don’t believe in the supernatural world, they don’t believe in Angels or Demons, they don’t believe they have a soul, so how can they comprehend what Jesus is teaching here now?

The supernatural realm is just as real as the natural world, demons are actively working all around you trying to destroy your soul. When we look around at this world today, you have to wonder how there is so much evil? How are people this depraved? It’s because they are under demonic influence. The Bible says “Satan is like a roaring lion looking to devour you” (1 Peter 5:8) If you deny the existence of Satan and his demons, they will devour you and pull your soul down to Hell with them. We are all in a Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6) we are not fighting against flesh and blood, we are fighting against the demonic forces of Satan

Jesus tells us “When demons leave a person, they come back with seven more demons even more wicked than the first” Christ is warning us to “Stay Alert” you are in a spiritual warfare. We need to stay in prayer, we need to stay in the Word of God, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Neglect of practicing these things will leave you as a lamb to the slaughter. The world is so depraved, because they are not only under the influence of demons, they are filled with demons. Many non saved people are possessed with demons and don’t even realize it

This is why we must become Born Again (John 3:3) Jesus said “Unless you are Born Again , you can’t see the Kingdom of Heaven” You need to be baptized and sealed with the Holy Spirit. You need to be regenerated from your sinful self, as we stated earlier the natural man can’t comprehend spiritual things. You can’t know God without the Holy Spirit

Failure to heed these warnings not only will leave you dead in your sins (Ephesians 2) but also leave you to be devoured by Satan and his demons. The spiritual war for your soul is real, Heaven is real, Hell is real, Satan and demons are real, you must become Born Again and get the Armor of God (Ephesians 6) on to stand against Satan, Amen! 

Matthew 12- The Sign of Jonah

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Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Matthew 12:38-40

Throughout Jesus ministry he prophesied about his death and about his resurrection on the 3rd day. However the disciples never understood what he was talking about, they never seemed to grasp the idea that the Messiah had to die for the sins of the world. However almost everybody knows the story of Jonah, even people who are Atheists typically have heard the story of Jonah and the whale, it’s shocking that the Resurrection story of Christ has always been in the Sunday School story, just nobody could put it all together

The religious leaders demanded a sign from Jesus that He is the Messiah, well Jesus was given them the sign, the Resurrection! Christ retold the story of Jonah and the Whale, Jonah spent 3 days and nights in the belly of the whale, symbolic of the heart of the Earth. So if you want your sign, look at the Empty Tomb! The Tomb is still empty today because Christ Is Risen!

Now 3 days and 3 nights has been a controversial topic in Christianity, unfortunately. The real error comes when we try to read the Bible as a 21rst Century American. You need to read it as a 1rst Century Jew, 3 Days and 3 Nights is a Hebrew Idiom, does not mean a literal 72 hours. I know alot of English speaking Christians have a hard time comprehending this, but I would recommend you do a deeper study into that topic before reading it as a 21rst Century American

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Matthew 12:41-42

As Jesus said “ A greater Jonah is Here” The story of Jonah and the Whale was a foreshadow of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Covenant. Remember Nineveh was a Gentile nation, this is why Jonah didn’t want to go there and preach. But after Jonah preached repentance there and the Gentiles truly repented , God forgave them. This is a complete foreshadow of the New Covenant and the Resurrection of Christ

Next time you read the Sunday School story of Jonah and the Whale, think of Jesus, think about what he did for us on the cross to atone for our sins and the eternal resurrection on Easter Sunday morning! Amen!

Matthew 12- By Their Fruit

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Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Matthew 12:33-35

Earlier we looked at one of Jesus strongest teachings in Matthew 7 Being Known By Their Fruit, today Christ kind of echoes the same message however this time it’s directed at the religious leaders. Even today, there are a lot of corrupted people “working” in religion, even in Christianity. We see this with the religious leaders, as Jesus calls them “A generation of vipers”

So how do we know who is a real leader of God and who is corrupted? As Jesus said “The tree is known by their fruit” These wolves that run fake ministries and corrupted Churches, the question is what spiritual fruit are they actually producing? Are people becoming Born Again in Christ? Or do we see works of the flesh, money, power , and sex? Pretty much every time you turn on the TV, these ministries are begging for money or bragging about their accomplishments, is this really being a servant of Christ?

As Jesus challenged the religious leaders, “How can you be evil, speak good things”? These wolves don’t have the Holy Spirit, they can’t provide you with any wisdom of God or miracles from God. Their entire ministry is ran by Satan, it’s a total deception! You need to use spiritual discernment when listening to a preacher or pastor (1 John 4:1)

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37

The Apostles James said “Not many of you should become teachers” (James 3:1) Why was James saying this? Because of what Jesus said “Every idle word that you speak should be given an account on the day of judgment” All these false prophets and teachers will need to give an account to Jesus Christ on judgment day.  They may be laughing all the way to the bank today, but in eternity they will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

But this is a warning for us also, don’t preach unless God makes you qualified. These words that I write today, I will give an account for them to Christ, because they are based on his words. It’s a responsibility we must bear, but it is one that must be done. Let them that have spiritual ears, hear! The false prophets and false teachers will be known by their fruit and stand in Judgment before Christ Amen!

Matthew 12- Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

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Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Matthew 12:31-32

The previous article I just wrote “A Kingdom Divided” touched on this subject of “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” We saw Jesus doing the works of God through the Holy Spirit and the religious leaders accusing him of doing the works of Satan. Obviously this is total blasphemy, to give Satan credit of doing God’s work, but it also demonstrates the deity of the Holy Spirit

Those who deny the Triunity of God, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) would have a harder time comprehending what is Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5) just as Jesus Christ the Son is God (John 1) just as our Heavenly Father is God. To speak against the Holy Spirit is to blasphemy God. When you deny the works of the Holy Spirit, you are denying the works of God. 

When you understand this, you get a better understanding of what “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is. Some would just say it’s denying the salvation of Christ, however when you understand the Triunity of God, the blasphemy goes farther than that. The Holy Spirit is involved in all the works of God, the Creation of the Heavens and Earth , the resurrection of Christ, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Any denial of these things would be Blasphemy against God

So to take this one step further, an Atheist who denies the Creation of the Universe by God would be Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, a muslim who denys the resurrection of Jesus Christ would be Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the medical doctor who gives themselves credit for bringing a patient back to life is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

As the Apostle Paul said “ The evidence of God is clearly seen so we are without excuse “ (Romans 1:20) The denial of God’s sovereignty and power is total Blasphemy, we are without excuse! We can claim we didn’t know or God didn’t reveal enough to us, but we do know. God has revealed his sovereignty, His power, His deity through the works of Creation and Jesus Christ, Amen!